Question: If love towards friends means to prefer his desire more than mine, what desires are we talking about?

Answer: As Baal HaSulam writes in his article, “The Last Generation,” one needs to be concerned that each person in the world will have his necessities for normal material existence met. And if the friend himself will relate to it like that, he will not need any extras.

And all the rest needs to be directed toward the support of the friend on the spiritual path. So what does it mean that I love the friend? How can I fulfill his desires? If I worried about food for him and anything he needs for his existence, in the other things, I support him spiritually: showing him my awakening and transferring to him the feeling of the greatness of the Creator and the importance on the spiritual path that awakens me and fulfills me in force. I act towards him as toward my child, which I want to attract to a beneficial action, and therefore I show him my interest, the desire, my appreciation. Exactly in the same way, I must show an example to the friend. It means, that I supply him with spiritual nourishment besides the corporeal nourishment, it means, that I love him.

Precisely this attitude, we must develop in our group. To give a friend the feeling of the greatness of the goal and my personal example of the loyalty to it, this is called to love the friend. And by that I prefer his desire above my desire. I take into consideration what he needs, the necessary corporeal means, and all the rest is toward his spiritual development. All this I must supply to him.

I must worry that he will arrange his life in a normal form, to help him find a job, etc. And from a spiritual aspect, I must encourage him with the greatness of the goal. And by that, I prefer his desire above my desire, I am worried for his development, and not mine. If I worry for a friend, this is the best thing for my development. But all of that I do in order to reach the love of God.

One must connect to a whole one: Israel, Oraita, and Kedosh Berach Hu (Israel, the Torah, and the Creator). Otherwise, it turns out that I simply love the friend in a natural egoistical love like for my child.

Precisely this form of work is called “the work of God.” If I relate to a friend in this way, through him I direct myself to the Creator. Love of others is necessary only in order to reach love of God. Through this man reveals the concealment that was made by the Creator, so we will practice in the love of others and reach the love of God.[95465]From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/13/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

If I want to focus on the Creator, I have to feel warmth towards the friend, like a warm “crimson sphere,” an attitude through which I carry on the connection with the friend to a connection with the Creator. After all, I love the friend precisely because the Creator is in him.

The Creator shows me who I am through the created beings in this world in the way He is concealed in it. If I can feel love towards this world, it means that I will feel love towards the Creator, towards the One who created this world and is concealed in it.

The question is: “Why is the Creator concealed in the world and not in the Torah?” Because this world is His concealment, and if I use the Light of the Torah, I first open what the Creator conceals in the world and then I discover Him.

The stages by which we advance towards the friend are the stages by which we advance towards the Creator, and there is nothing but that. All this is called the way of love, according to the final goal and according to what we attain along the way. Even on the lowest level we discover hatred and then love in contrast to it, and so it is time after time, on every level—hatred and love.[95468]From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/13/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

Question: The people who prepared the Novosibirsk Convention cannot get together in a good organized physical group. They communicate virtually, watch the lessons every day, each from his own home. This is how it has been for five to seven years. How can we help them unite in a group?

Answer: If they really want to move forward, they need serious obstacles. For this, they should get together. Only by overcoming obstacles, uniting above them, will they begin to move forward; otherwise, all their studies are just theoretical. If they have an opportunity to get together and they do not want this for their own reasons, then they impede themselves. They can be nice children, organize everything perfectly, but for each of them to stay in his place is impossible.

If they were separated by long distance, for example, hundreds of miles, then it is another matter. But they live in the same city and have to meet. They simply must!

Question: What is a group as a spiritual unit, spiritual entity? How can I properly interact with the group so that we derive the maximum mutual benefit for spiritual growth?

Answer: A group, as a spiritual entity, is the common desire that seeks likeness with the Creator, the property of bestowal. If people who are in the group act contrary to their egoism, then above it, over their general contradictions, they build the property of love and bestowal that they direct at the Creator.

This is called a group. Constant work should be carried out inside it. If a person joins the group, becomes included into it, dissolves in it, he loses his “I,” and he wants to disappear in the group, to give himself fully to what takes place in it; this means that he is a member of the group.

Our “I,” originally created in us, exists only as a black dot, above which I have to accept all external desires as my own. This is called “love your neighbor.”

To love means to perceive all his desires and properties as my own. I restrict my own desires, do not feel them. I exist only in order to feel everything that exists in others as my own. In reality, all our common desires are my field, my Kli, vessel. I will feel the upper world in it; I want to bestow upon the Creator through it, and in it I will reveal Him. And my dot will remain a black dot. In this way I should perceive myself in relation to the group.[95353]From the Novosibirsk Convention 12/8/12, Lesson 4

Question: How can we build the correct intention with respect to the group? How is it expressed? How can one understand that he is in the correct intention?

Answer: The intention relative to the group should be very simple: I came to the group to get rid of my egoism, to rise above it, to adhere to the Creator, to reveal my next level, become a human being. This is how I should view the group and do everything that leads me to this goal.

We need to remember this and to adhere to this rule. Moreover, I do not look at the faces, characters, anything; I do not care; they can say whatever they want. First of all, I want to eliminate my “I,” I just want to go along with them. And then, we will move on.

I can actively engage in the work of the group above the fact that I have annulled myself only after I have succeeded in elevating them. Usually people start to enforce everything with their egoism, begin to change everything by force, as it is customary in our world. It cannot happen in the group.[95350]From the Novosibirsk Convention 12/8/12, Lesson 4

Now, after 2000 years of exile we return to the Tower of Babel, which in the meantime has grown even more. We have returned to the great grief of the ego, to the huge tower of human egoism that we have erected and find ourselves at a dead end not knowing what we should do with our lives.

Everything that we have built on the foundation of egoism doesn’t bring us any solutions: We are left with nothing; all we built in the world is crumbling and is overwhelmed by crisis.

Today, we should refer to the same solution that was found in ancient times, in the days of Abraham—unity. However, not only on group, which was then named “the people of Israel,” is supposed to unite, but rather the whole world has to finally connect and forever.

As an example, let’s use the Maccabean Revolt to which the holiday of Chanukah is dedicated. This story happened at the time of the Second Temple and its downfall. As always, the egoistic force, which at that time was called the “Greek power,” endangered the group, which was called “Israel”; the Greek power tried to separate Israel.

And in this category of “Greek authorities” were included many who were previously in the group of Israel. In other words, people who used to live in a spiritual level, fell en mass from the spiritual level to our material plane when they began to act according to their egoism instead of rising above it and connecting with others.

So the affects of global egoism, which appeared in the form of “Greeks” led to the destruction of the Temple.

History tells us that an uprising of Maccabees took place at that time; they began to fight this power. It was more of a spiritual war than a material combat. Their only goal was to bring their people to unity. By achieving unity, they attained victory: they managed to correct Jews who were following the Greeks and their customs, and the Greek invaders were forced to retreat.

In this way they were able to rebuild the Temple (Beit HaMikdash), then there is the building (Beit) of mutual love and bestowal, and so they achieved correction.

We need to learn from this history how to reach correction when we were in such a deep crisis. Today, the resolution is still the same. It differs from the previous situation only by the fact that at that time they had a group of Maccabees who were known to the entire nation as a distinct family, a dynasty of priests.

Today, there is nothing like that. We are in a total confusion and have no idea how to live further. It seems that we have a state of Israel on the land of Israel and have built the Israeli nation, but none of them correspond to the internal definition given by Abraham.

However, this situation can be corrected in an instant. Indeed, at the moment we join together in mutual guarantee, we will elicit the upper force according to the law of equivalence of form that will combine us into one whole. This is how we regain bliss and joy and feel powerful.

We become happy because we reveal the upper force that again reigns between them, and opens the spiritual world. After we connect even a little bit, just to modify our predisposition and direction, we immediately will feel that the upper force empowers us from the inside.

We don’t even have to fight any longer; the Creator will struggle for us, since it is the only force that previously was elevating our egoism and creating hardships, particularly to make us rise above them. If we try to elevate above them and make the slightest effort to achieve it, the upper force will complete the work for us. That’s why the Greeks simply left. This is what is called a “spiritual war.”[95151]From KabTV’s “Kabbalists Write” 12/4/12

Today, we are under attack by a physical force; it is fierce and dangerous, posing a serious threat, and is fanatically committed to its goal. It demands from us the same kind of dedication to our goal, that is, our unity.

If we unite today (I hope it will happen), we will immediately feel that there is a spiritual power that supports us. On behalf of the upper governance, this force will abandon our adversaries, since It manifested Itself as an opposing force to the Creator.

Today, we are in a situation identical to the time of Maccabees. A shadow of a new Palestinian state is floating on the horizon; many European countries have already spoken in support of it. At the same time, there is no unity in the nation of Israel. Everybody defends their personal opinions, specifically right before the elections. We lack the upper force that supports us. However, It will descend to us only on the condition that we become united.

Consequently, the only solution that works for us is to return to our genuine principles: “Be as one man with one heart,” “All who belong to Israel are friends,” and “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” These principles are the conditions that bind our nation. If Israelis had this kind of attitude and treated each other this way, we would rehabilitate all physical forces as well as all sorts of negative spiritual impacts on us.

Everything depends on our internal organization and on how we implement the method of connection through integral education, learning how to unite, how to communicate, how to organize so as to act like a common single body. The moment we reach a more intimate connection, mutually reciprocal, we will immediately feel that the upper force supports us. All of a sudden, the darkness and black clouds that are pressing on us disappear, and we see the Light.

Hanukkah is a celebration of Light; there is a tradition of lighting candles by using one lit candle in the center that is called the shamash. Our task is to become the central candle for the whole world. The Israeli nation is a shamash that kindles all the other candles around the world.

It is said that Israel has to serve as the Light for the nations of the world and show them the Light that comes from those who have managed to annul their egoism and connect with each other. When they achieve this state, they gain a sensation of the Light, of the upper force, that can be transferred from one nation to another, from country to country. Everybody becomes ignited as candles!

Hanukkah is a special holiday relating solely to spirituality. It is not restricted by any religious limitations or prohibitions, since it is above all possible limitations. It is not subject to any religious or even national characteristics, as it symbolizes that all must come together and rise above their matter, to be similar to the Light, to a burning candle.

This is exactly what we need today. By achieving it, we would certainly change ourselves completely and the condition of the world in general. Actually, this is what the entire world anticipates from us.[95148]From KabTV’s “Kabbalists Write” 12/4/12

During the time of the Hanukkah holiday, it is obvious that today the world requires the same kind of correction that was once achieved as a result of the Maccabean revolt. It is a spiritual war for the sake of finding “a jar of oil for the sacred fire.” It means that we unite together and reach the minimal connection that is sufficient to combine the sparks that are present in each of us, merge them together, and end up being as one burning candle, as a jar of oil for the lamp.

Then, one candle will light all other candles, thus rising above this world, which is denoted by the eight candles of the Hanukkahlamp. This is exactly what we are supposed to do at the present time. The holiday of Hanukkah is a symbol of the Maccabean revolt against the narrow-minded approach of the world, huge egoism and protectionism, isolation and separation from each other. The world tries to live by the rule: “Every man for himself,” and people don’t know what to do next because this statute leads them to crisis.

We don’t know where this world is headed. We feel as little children who are lost and don’t see the way out. Until recently, this world was governed by egoism that took a very primitive form: money and power. People regarded themselves as big, strong, important, and powerful.

Today, they have lost control over the world and have no idea what will happen to them tomorrow. Old liaisons are destroyed. The world cannot be controlled by military might or financial means. The most influential people of this world lost control over others and seem to be quite helpless.

Under these circumstances, we have to expand Kabbalah dissemination and make it as extensive as possible. This wisdom was transferred from one generation to another and finally reached us. It was brought to us from ancient Babylon, which at that time was experiencing precisely the same conditions as we are now. Today, we have to make the same correction that Abraham did.

However, Abraham laid the foundation for all faiths and religions; it was adequate for their developmental level at that time. Our time requires using his power at a higher level to raise the entire world to a spiritual degree. At that time, this methodology served the purpose of evolving the world, whereas at this time, it has to finally correct it.[95067]From the Weekly Torah Portion 12/4/12